Roast Pumpkin and Baby Spinach Salad

Here is a salad to start your new year challenge - a new recipe each week.

This salad a friend of mine made a few months ago and I love it. The dressing is very special as it has maple syrup in it. This salad was a hit on Christmas Day.

Ingredients

Dressing:
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons maple syrup
2 teaspoons seeded mustard

Salad:
Washed baby spinach
Fetta (crumbled)
Pine nuts
Roast pumpkin
(any other salad ingredients, I put halved cherry tomatoes and cubed cucumber)

Method

1. Roast the pumpkin with olive oil.
2. Cool the pumpkin slightly before putting in the salad.
3. Wash the baby spinach and put in a bowl.
4. Crumble the fetta and put the pumpkin and pine nuts on top.
5. Place all dressing in a bottle and shake.
6. Pour dressing over the salad and serve.

Pumpkin Soup

Ingredients

500g butternut pumpkin
2 medium onions chopped
3 1/2 cups water
chicken stock
2 large carrots diced
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
2 cloves garlic (optional)

Method

1. Chop all vegetables
2. Place onions and garlic (optional) and with small amount of olive oil and cook until onion is soft
3. All other ingredients into pot
4. Boil then simmer until cooked (around 30-45 minutes)
5. Blend and serve

Variation

1. Bake pumpkin and carrots in oven before adding to pot. I baked pumpkin and carrot for around 45 minutes on a high heat before adding to the broth. Also, when you are adding it to the broth, take some of the liquid and put into baking tray to get all the cooked flavours.

This is a family favourite. It is really simple and yummy. You can add cream at the end, either sour cream or coconut cream. You can make a vegetarian alternative; add vegetable stock instead of chicken stock.

Felicity

Impossible Pie

Ingredients

At least 4 serves (more if you add a little salad)

4 eggs
2 cups milk
½ cup plain flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
125g margarine (melted)
Pasta (small pasta eg. swirls, macaroni etc)
See variation below for the other ingredients
Cheese

Method

1. Cook pasta (follow packet instructions)
2. Wisk eggs, milk then add melted margarine
3. Add flour and baking powder to wet mixture
4. Add one of the variations
5. Spread pasta in the bottom of a greased large dish then pour all mixture on top.
6. Sprinkle grated cheese on top
7. Bake in the oven until firm and cheese is golden brown

 Variations

• Corn and asparagus - medium sized can of drained corn and a can of asparagus, drained and cut into pieces
• Tuna - large can of tuna drained and medium sized can of corn drained (corn can also be added)
• Silverbeat/spinach - sliced into small pieces then dunked into boiling water to make it limp
• Bacon and tomato - cut bacon into small pieces, ensure there is not too much liquid in the tomato

Not sure where this recipe came from but it was always cooked at home (at least once a week). There is almost always left-overs to be reheated for the next night as it makes heaps. The reason that we called it impossible pie is because it is impossible to get wrong.

If you know more variations please write them below.

Felicity Caterer

Zucchini quiche

Ingredients

4 zucchinis

1 onion
1 cup of cheese
1 cup of bacon
1 cup of SR flour
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup of oil

4 eggs

Method

1. Grate zucchinis and add everything else and mix.
2. Put in oven for about 40mins.

Hint: It taste great cold too.

Mel Patterson